Sheldon Clare

We sat down with Sheldon Clare, running as an independent
in Cariboo - Prince George. During the interview I heard a
passionate man who has lived in Prince George for a long
time and wants to see change come to this riding. Clare
spoke about many different things from the problems with
the party system, to student debt. He is an instructor at

the College of New Caledonia and after my interview he
proved that is far more than just a random independent.

We talked about first the party system here in Canada,
Clare decided to run after feeling dissatisfaction with this
system and a lack of a voice for local ridings in the House of
Commons. He believes that anything that helps the riding
he represents is ok when it comes to parliament, that means
crossing the floor to support certain bills, and crossing right
back the next day if don’t agree with the party. He says one
of the major problems is party whips who force MP to vote
with the party and if they do not they lose the special benefits
and perks that come with being in a party. Clare sees this

as a huge failing of government, however when asked if we
should move away from the trustee system to an American
style representative system, Clare quickly swatted the idea
away saying “I am not a Republican.” It is clear though that
he sees MP as deal brokers who work with certain parties
when they have aligned interests but as soon as the deal is
over they might oppose those same people in another issue.

Clare was very passionate when he talked about student
debt. He said the current state of student debt is a “national
disaster.” He wants change how transfer payments are given
to the province so that they aren’t just given to the province
with no stipulations, but rather earmarked for certain
purposes such as education to ensure that it gets better
funded in the future. In his 24 years at CNC he has seen many
cuts to the institution’s budget that has created problems
and lost opportunities for students. He sees this as a major
issue and one he is hoping will resonate with students.

Clare also spoke about the protection of the environment
however he was vague about how to do this. He talked

a lot about the balance between resource development
and environmental conservation. Responsible
development is important and using science as a guild
is a huge part of his decision making process. He says
no to Enbridge, and has reservations about projects

like the Site C Dam. Sheldon is an avid hunter, and is
partly the reason why he has lived in Prince George

for so long, so he sympathizes with environmental
conservation issues, though to what extent was unclear.

Though one of the most defining features of this candidate
is his stance on bill C-51. He is opposed to it and wants to
see it repealed. He talked about the separation between
intelligence gathering and enforcement. The idea that

C-51 merges them both in CSIS it very troubling to

him, and would like to see that changed. C-51 is part

of the reason for Clare running in this election and
Margaret Atwood has even endorsed him on Twitter.

Matt Shaw and Tracy Calogheros

On to the Liberals, we spoke with both candidates for
both Prince George ridings. Tracy Calogheros a long
time Liberal and the CEO of the Exploration Place, who
has sat on the sidelines for a long time, but stepped up
after year of Conservative rule. Matt Shaw, is taking on
incumbent Bob Zimmer in Prince George - Northern
Rockies - Peace River. Shaw talked a lot about speaking
authentically and not completely toeing the party line.
Both candidates were passionate and showed a strong
knowledge of their party’s position on the issues with
their own spin on certain ones to give them a local flare.

The both toted the need for change in government, and
this matched the parties’ mantra in this election that Justin
Trudeau has been driving home in all of his speeches. Both
candidates spoke to the idea that the Conservatives policies
are not working, and we need to see a massive investment
in our economy and major change in leadership. Calogheros
talked about how municipalities can take advantage of the
infrastructure pledge that the Liberals have made in order
to help with housing, roads and other public buildings.
Calogheros has been talking with some of the mayors in her
riding to find out ways they can utilize the money. Shaw sees
young people and helping them find work as also key to the
economy’s success. He would like to see more investment
in university graduates so that they have more career
options once they leave school and go into the job market.

One of the bigger parts of the Liberal platform is voting
system reform. Proportional voting is one of the ideas that
have been spoken of and when I was speaking with Shaw,
he talked about his willingness to see this sort of change.
“if someone gets 10% of the votes, they should get 10% of
the seats” said Shaw he was speaking about the Greens and
their inability to get more seats in parliament. We talked a
lot about the voter apathy and why young people don’t vote.
Shaw wants to connect with young people and bring them
to the table which he hope will lower voter apathy and get
more young people engaged. Shaw spoke of his own personal
experiences in school and how what he took at the time was
going to help him out a lot when he graduated, he then said
they same cannot be said for the current generation when
they leave school, the options he had aren’t always there.

Shaw spoke about the change Canada has had under
the Harper government from the “honest broker” to the
joining the United States as a kind of global policer. He saw
this as a terrible change for Canada, and it is something
he wants to see change if the Conservatives are taken
out of office. We looked at Syria and the problems in
Europe with the refugee crisis. He said that the Liberals
are committing 100 million dollars to help with this
problem and bring over 25,000 refugees. Though this
would be an immediate response, but it will not fix the
overall problem that Syria is facing right now.

Calogheros spoke a lot about the same things in terms of
the economy and job creation. The Liberals want to see a
lot of jobs created for young people, and in green sectors.
However she also went on to talk about her disagreement

Election 2015 9

with the Liberal party on supporting Bill C-51. According
to Calogheros the Liberals supported Bill C-51 in order to
get a discussion on the floor about the bill. The Liberals
believe there are good parts in the bill and they want to
amend the problematic areas but they also want to keep the
areas that will be valuable. However when I heard her say
this it did sound a lot like playing politics with our rights
and I asked her about it. She did defend the position and
said that there are smart people who made this bill who
want to make Canada a better place. Since it is law now
all we can do is change it to make it more acceptable.

Calogheros has concerns about the missing and murdered
aboriginal woman here in Canada. The Liberals have said
if elected there will be an enquiry, and they will adopt

the recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation
commission report. She said that the Liberals want to have
meaningful conversation with the various first nations
groups in order to build the relationship between the two
governments. One of the more local impacts of this would
be the highway of tears and a possible increase in resources
in the investigation of the murders along that stretch of
highway. She says the issues of the missing and murdered
aboriginal women are not just a first nations issue but an
issue for all women and needs to be taken seriously.

This article only contains summaries of each interview, but
much more was discussed. Students should listen to these
interviews online or over the air and familiarize themselves
with the candidates and learn which one best represents
their needs and views. More interviews are coming with
Adam de Kroon from the Christian Heritage party and
Elizabeth Biggar from the Green Party. Keep up with all the
election coverage with Over the Edge and CFUR 88.7. The
election is October 19th, please ensure you get out and vote.